Wolfpack Softball Meets Pittsburgh in Home ACC Series

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference's top two teams in home runs will meet this weekend when the NC State softball team hosts Pittsburgh at Dail Stadium. Saturday's doubleheader is set for 4 p.m., while Sunday's single game will begin at noon.

The Wolfpack enters the contest with a 16-18 overall record and a 2-4 mark in ACC play, while the Panthers are 21-11 and 3-6 in conference action.

The Matchup
NC State and Pitt have met nine times in the history of the programs with the Wolfpack owning a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, the teams played in Pittsburgh and the Panthers won two of three games to win the series.

In 2014, NC State hosted Pitt and swept the first conference series between the teams in ACC history, as the Panthers joined the league prior to the 2014 season.

The series is sure to provide fireworks, as Pittsburgh leads the ACC with 45 home runs as a team and the Wolfpack is second in the conference with 44.

Weekend Promotions
Saturday the Wolfpack will host its annual pink game presented by Rex Healthcare.

Last Time Out
In the Wolfpack's last outing of the season, it earned an 8-0 run-rule victory against the USC Upstate Spartans at Dail Stadium. NC State collected its fourth shutout and fourth mercy-rule win in the contest.

Rychcik Approaching 400
Fourth-year head coach Shawn Rychcik is approaching 400 career wins. Rychcik currently has 396 wins to his credit and needs four more wins to reach the milestone.

The More, The Merrier
NC State has out-hit its opponent 13 times this year and is 12-1 when accomplishing the feat.

Scoring First
The Wolfpack has scored first in 13 of its 16 wins this season and in contrast, has just three wins when the opponent scores first.

Crucial Third Inning
NC State has compiled a record of 11-2 when leading after the third inning. In contrast, the Wolfpack is just 2-12 when trailing at the end of the third frame.

Ross Making Her Mark
Junior Tyler Ross is making her mark on the NC State record books. The Cameron, N.C., native hit a pair of home runs Wednesday afternoon to move into third place for career homers in the Wolfpack record books with 31.

In addition, she has clubbed an ACC-best 13 home runs this season, which ranks seventh among NCAA batters.

Scouting Pittsburgh
- The Pittsburgh Panthers head to Raleigh with a 21-11 ledger, highlighted by a doubleheader sweep against St. Bonaventure in their last outing on Wednesday.
- Pitt was swept by Virginia Tech to open ACC play, took two of three against UNC-Chapel Hill and lost two of three against Virginia to sit at 3-6 in the conference.
- The Panthers are averaging 7.28 runs per game and have a team batting average of .332.
- Giorgiana Zeremenko leads Pitt and the conference at the plate with a .465 clip and a team-best 10 home runs.
- In the circle, Kayla Harris has an 11-8 win-loss record to go along with a 2.46 earned run average (ERA). Pitt has a team ERA of 3.34.

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Wolfpack Softball Meets Pittsburgh in Home ACC Series

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Ross